As the final bits of summer attire are being arranged in duffel bags or rucksacks (I avoid suitcases in the summer holidays.. they are too formal...) I look back at an unseemly season, one with so many ups and downs, which left a particular mark on me. The 08-09 period was a particularly harsh one and even though my life was full in every respect, a fact for which I remain extremely grateful, I long for the brakes... pushing down on them hard and then simply letting go, albeit for a while.